JUNEAU (Alaska, US), Dec 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A powerful, magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck in a remote area near the border between Alaska and the Canadian territory of Yukon on Saturday. There was no tsunami warning, and officials said there were no immediate reports of damage or injury.
The U.S. Geological Survey said it struck about 370 kilometers northwest of Juneau, Alaska, and 250 kilometers west of Whitehorse, Yukon.
In Whitehorse, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Calista MacLeod said the detachment received two 911 calls about the earthquake.
“It definitely was felt,” MacLeod said. “There are a lot of people on social media, people felt it.”
Alison Bird, a seismologist with Natural Resources Canada, said the part of Yukon most affected by the temblor is mountainous and has few people.
“Mostly people have reported things falling off shelves and walls,” Bird said. “It doesn’t seem like we’ve seen anything in terms of structural damage.”
The Canadian community nearest to the epicenter is Haines Junction, Bird said, about 130 kilometers away. The Yukon Bureau of Statistics lists its population count for 2022 as 1,018.
The quake was also about 91 kilometers from Yakutat, Alaska, which the USGS said has 662 residents.
It struck at a depth of about 10 kilometers and was followed by multiple smaller aftershocks. — NNN-AGENCIES